The Curse of the CherryBlossom
by XxTorturedHeartxX
Summary: A girl finds she is not quiet as normal as she may believe... something happens that shows there is more to her than she could ever want and she is thrown into the past! What will she do to get her revenge? And will love get in the way? possible LEMON
1. Preview and Surprises

Sorry this is soooo long! Its my first fan-fic so be gentle, but let me know what you think! I know not a lot really happens in this chapter. I was really just trying to set up the story with this one and I'm a little bit of a description freak so I spent a little longer then I probably should have on the weapon and outfit descriptions. Just bare with it for now; I promise to get some more action, and (hopefully) Sesshy in the next one! Thanks!:P

Moonlight and Cherries

An InuYasha fan-fic by XxTorturedHeartxX

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own InuYasha or any of its characters.

Claimer: I do however own this particular storyline and OCs Sakura, Yasuo, Jiro, Setsuya, etc.

Prologue: The Cruelty of Fate 

Terror. Unspeakable terror. That was what this particular child felt as she ran from her cruel fate. She prayed that someone would rescue her, that she would be saved from the monsters that haunted her dreams… and her reality. And so it was that as she ran, she wondered how; how could _this_ be the rescue she had prayed for? The answer was simple: only a curse could fight a curse. Such was the cruelty of her fate; be destroyed by one curse, or controlled by another. And so, as the girl's foot caught on a fallen tree branch and she sprawled forward onto the harsh ground, the two people she cared for the most watching in horror as their beloved daughter was consumed by the curse she would be forced to bear until death or eternity, whichever came first.

Chapter One: Early Surprises 

Sakura cried out as she bolted upright in bed, breathing heavily and soaked in sweat, her pajamas clinging uncomfortably to her skin. Sakura groaned, falling back onto the bed in exasperation. It was the fifth time that week! Couldn't that stupid nightmare give her a break already? She had a test today! She should at least be allowed one night of good rest! _Jeeze… if I weren't a complete and utter _**genius**_ I don't know how I would manage to keep my grades so good with such a want for sleep. _Sakura thought to herself, barely smirking at her feigned ego; she really couldn't be _that_ smart if people were always telling her how stupid she was, could she?

Sighing, Sakura rolled groggily out of bed and made her way to her dresser closet where she had hung her school uniform the night before. She paused a moment, eyeing the inappropriately proportioned—at least in her opinion—outfit warily before groaning in exasperation, grabbing it along with a towel, and heading to her personal bathroom for a nice warm shower before subjecting herself to the Hellish life she was forced to live in. Her Step-Father was a douchebag and a total jerk, her Momma was sick and depressed, her Dad had randomly disappeared off the face of the Earth, she had an A- in English (not that she couldn't correct that soon enough) and she had a sneaking suspicion that she was quickly approaching 'that time of the month'. Oh, and today was her seventeenth birthday— not that anyone in the screwed up mass of emotions she called a family would remember. Except maybe her Step-brother Yasuo. He was probably the only person besides Sakura's few friend-like acquaintances that cared at all for her; even _if_ he wasn't related to her by blood, the two had become unlikely friends relatively fast. Other than Yasuo, Sakura practically had no family. Her mother was too sick with grief over the loss of her late husband to notice Sakura most of the time, even on her birthday, (though, when she _did_ take notice, she was overprotective to the point of it being suffocating) and her Step-father was… well, her Step_-_father, (suffice to say, he could only ever seem to look at her with disgust for some reason)

Sakura sighed again and reached an alabaster-pale hand out of the shower, gripping the pink and gold towel she had brought and pulling it so that it unrolled. Wrapping it around herself, she lingered in the shower a moment longer, taking the time to wring at least a little of the water from her exceedingly thick, long hair. It was a curious color, especially compared to her own mother's jet black locks and her birth father's deep brown ones, being a color almost as pale as her skin. In a way, it was, but also, it wasn't. Sure if she was standing in a dark shadow it appeared to be white like her skin, but really, it had a strange golden shine to it that was unique in Japan where most people had dark hair. However, as it was, Sakura didn't particularly like her hair. It was too thick and it grew at an alarming rate—she had to cut the damn stuff every four weeks to keep it from overwhelming her! And even if the color of her hair was unique, that didn't mean it was pretty. Sure the idea of white hair with gold shine was pretty when you imagined it, but the way it looked with her unnaturally pale skin tone just made her look sickly and colorless. That, paired with the fact that Sakura was too skinny, had ultimately no curves, (or boobs) whatsoever, and had relatively plain features, put Sakura at almost the end of the attractive list. The only feature Sakura thought was remotely attractive about her person, were her strikingly electric green eyes.

They were even more unusual than her hair and fit with her gene pool even less. Her mother's eyes were deep brown, like rich dark chocolate, and her father's eyes had been blacker than night. Technically she shouldn't have ended up with green eyes, especially in a shade that was so uncommon even among people who regularly were born with eye colors like green and blue, such as Americans. It was the one feature that gave Sakura any color and for that, Sakura liked them the most.

Unfortunately for Sakura, her list of unusual features gave her Step-father even more reasons to hate her guts and screw with her already Eff'd up life. He viewed her as a freak-show, unsuitable to be viewed and so he often averted his gaze from her when she would enter a room. That was, he would until she would step awkwardly and accidently trip and destroy the new vase that had just been added to the décor of the traditionally styled Japanese mansion they lived in. Then he would give her this disgusted look that seemed to be saying something like, 'why is there a walking dog turd destroying the furniture in my house? It must be taken from my all-mighty, God-like gaze immediately!' before _actually_ saying something like, "Why are you so clumsy, girl? If you were not a child of this house, I would tell you to clean that up yourself. Maid! Clean that at once!"

As if he would be the master of such a mansion if he weren't married to her mother. Why Sakura's mother ever _did_ marry him, she would never know. Especially since said mother starts crying and yelling if Sakura even brought it up. Then Sakura would feel bad and have to turn to hugging her and telling her it was fine while she said repeatedly that she's sorry for no apparent reason. Maybe she was sorry for marrying such a complete A-hole with a stick up his butt the size of Florida and an ego that could literally obliterate the moon if it were channeled into an energy bomb. Probably.

Sakura sighed again, as she looked into the mirror at the awkward, sixteen—no, _seventeen_ year old girl in front of her. _At least Mother was pretty, before she got so sick, and even now she's still undeniably beautiful…_ Sakura sighed for the millionth time and began the arduous task of drying and brushing her nearly two and a half feet of hair. It came down to just above her butt; she hadn't cut it since the month before last, which was much too long concerning her hair which had been cut to just below her shoulders the last time. How in the name of Hell does hair manage to grow _that_ fast? At least she'd gotten up two hours earlier today. That meant she had plenty of time to figure out what to do with it. After drying it for half an hour, then taking another half hour to brush it, she decided on a messy ponytail so it would be out of her way… well, _most_ of it; her bangs which were cut across her forehead were brushing her eyelashes now, so it was going to be a little difficult to see where she was going. _Not like I don't do a good enough job of crashing into things when I actually _can_ see_… she thought to herself as she picked up her school uniform from where it sat on the counter.

She eyed it and almost groaned at the thought of putting it on _then_ wearing it where people would actually see. The skirt, which was a pale cream color highlighted by the black thread and trim, had just a little lacey black chiffon sticking out the bottom. The non-see-through part of the skirt only came down to about mid-thigh; the chiffon brought the total length to an inch and a half above the knee. As Sakura stared incredulously at the skimpy piece of fabric, she couldn't help but cringe, only one thought in her mind:_ This screams 'Rape Me'._ _I mean seriously, who the __**hell**__ decided mid-thigh was appropriate for school?_ Sakura thought angrily. How in the hell was someone to even manage bending down to pick up a pencil without showing off their entire butt? Sure the skirt was cute, in a, 'I'm not a hideous color and I'm not mismatched with the top' sort of way, but did it have to be that… that…. SLUTTY? _Not to mention the fact that we of the "feminine variety" have to where thigh-high gray stockings as well!_ The only part of the outfit that didn't scream 'I'm a hooker' was the black button up and jacket, which was, like the skirt, a soft cream color with black trim and threading, and even that paired with the skirt came off whorish. In fact, the only part of the entire school uniform Sakura preferred as compared to other school's uniforms, was the fact that the girls wore regular red ties just like the boys instead of one of those hideous bow-ties or sailor ties most schools had. It was the only redeeming quality. But a regular tie could only go so far and it didn't in any way relieve any of the "sex-appeal".

Sakura stared at the outfit a moment more, before groaning one last word of protest and dropping her towel, first pulling on her clean white bra and panties, then her skirt, followed by the button-up, tie, jacket, and finally, stockings. Her usual black ankle-high combat boots, (the only sign that she was into the punk sort of style) waited patiently by the front door, as was custom in Japan, so for now she would go about her morning in only her stockings. With one last glance in the mirror, grimace at the tight fitting school uniform, and a quick smudge of colorless lip balm, Sakura made her way back into her room where she gathered the finished homework from the previous night and, with an annoyed 'huff', realized her backpack was no-where in sight. She proceeded to first tear her room apart looking for the damned thing, then, once she had found it, rearrange it all back into working order, (if her Step-father found it the slightest bit out of order, he would probably whoop her ass and ground her for months. Plus she was just naturally cleanly)

Sighing for the millionth time, Sakura pulled open her book bag and slid her numerous textbooks, sketchpad, drawing and coloring pencils, and of course her homework inside, then took a quiet moment to admire the sturdy pack that carried so much of her life inside of it. It was made of a soft, strangely silky canvas with even more silky threads embroidering in black, soft pink, and red cherry-blossom trees, her name sake flower. Her mother and father had given it to her as a present when she was a child and over the years she had kept it and cared for it, making sure it was mended when it happened to rip and taking great care to keep it from getting dirty. It was one of the only things she had left of the life she had lived before… it was a symbol of a memory she cherished more than anything.

She closed her eyes, sighing contentedly for once as she let the memories wash over her in soft, soothing waves, gentle and calming as the sea she had frequently visited as a child… she was never permitted to visit anymore, now that her Step-father was around… and she longed for the salty odor of the foamy sea waves as they crashed softly against the shore. She could hear her childish laugh, bright with the feeling of being loved and loving so heartily in return. She could hear the laugh of her mother, undefiled and pure of the pain of loss she now felt, her beautiful mother who was so sickeningly sad now was so beautiful in the arms of her husband, who's deep baritone echoed beautifully with her soft soprano. And Sakura was once more filled with the happiness of being with her family… her _true_ family—not the horrible excuse for one she had now. A contented smile graced Sakura's mouth as she remembered the five short years she had been truly happy, the times when she would play among the cherry-blossoms in the garden, the blossoms swirling around her dancing form as they fell and drifted in the breeze, the times she would frown as her mother and father berated her for slouching or having her elbow on the dinner table, teaching her proper manners for a young lady, the times she would say that she loved them and they would smile and say they loved her back… the memories were bittersweet though.

Not long after her fifth birthday, Sakura had taken extremely ill, blacking out in fits of fever, unconscious for days at a time and disoriented and hallucinating when she wasn't. She could never quite remember what she had hallucinated about… only that whatever it was, it was the single most terrifying experience of her young life. She had eventually been hospitalized, often bleeding randomly from her mouth and nose and having to be under constant supervision so that, in her fists of hallucinating hysteria, she wouldn't injure herself. Her mother was hit hard and never left her bedside unless the doctors made her, never getting enough sleep for her worry over her only child. Her father had stayed for a while too, until it was clear she wouldn't get better for quite some time and he decided he needed to continue with his work so he could pay for the upkeep of their house and the monthly hospital bill. She stayed sick for almost a year before suddenly, and quiet unexplainably, she recovered. Her parents were overjoyed, but nothing was the same after that; both of her parents became overprotective in the extreme, never letting her go out by herself, not allowing her to be alone even while indoors for fear of a relapse, and sometimes even yelling at her when she was too carless and got hurt, even at the tiniest scratch.

Her parents only became worse. They would always seem nervous, terrified even, and sometimes Sakura would catch her mother weeping over her when she would tuck her in and think Sakura had fallen asleep. Other times she would cower outside of her parents rooms, listening to her father yelling at her mother, telling her as she screamed back at him that it wasn't her fault, whatever 'it' was, angered that she could ever think it was. It got worse and worse and then… suddenly, at seven years old, her father vanished, leaving her mother and her all alone in the world; her mother had been an orphan with no siblings and her father had been an only child and his parents had died a year before Sakura was born, so they weren't there either. Sakura thought that he had abandoned them, but her mother… her mother _always_ scolded her roughly for even thinking such a thing, telling her that her father had done so only because he loved Sakura so much. Sakura's mother would not permit her to ever think badly of her father for disappearing and so, though Sakura still believed him to have abandoned them, she could never bring herself to love him any less than she had before.

Four years later, Sakura's mother remarried and her life became a living hell. Well, except for Yasuo, that was. He was the one good thing that came of her Mother and Jiro's— her bastard of Step-father's—union. Though Yasuo and her were close to the same age, him being twelve and her being ten, they never really established a brother-sister relationship… after all, they weren't truly related and at the time, Sakura felt that any man was unwelcome in her home and frequently took the time to remind him of such, to which, he would only laugh whole-heartedly and tell her she was a 'strange girl', then she would yell that she wasn't strange and he would laugh again and smile that soft, friendly smile he sometimes did. Sakura chuckled a little, remembering how it unnerved her that he could smile so easily at someone he had just met. It also pissed her off, but eventually, she had been broken by it and began to smile back. After that though, it was too late to establish the brother-sister relationship, so instead, Sakura viewed it as if he were a close friend who had come to stay with her... a roommate of sorts. She was glad that she had him to confide in about the numerous cruelties she had to suffer at the hands of his father, _her_ Step-father. It didn't strike her till she was a bit older that it was strange his father had such a cold heart and he did not and, even then, she had simply thanked her stars that it was so.

Sakura was drug back to reality as a soft knock came at her door.

"Who is it?" She asked, fake frowning, knowing perfectly well who it was.

"It's only me, Sakura," Yasuo exclaimed cheerfully, recognizing that, since she wasn't grumbling incoherently, she was already awake and ready. He peeked his head in the door at this and gave her a bright smile that reached his soft grey eyes as he brushed a lock of jet black hair out the way. "Just came to see if you were awake yet. I didn't want you to be late for breakfast, since it's your favorite—waffles with strawberries on top." He winked at her, giving a smirk as he spoke, "I know, I'm awesome. Who else is cunning enough to convince the "stone cold statue" to serve your favorite on your birthday. Marvel at the greatness that is me." Sakura grinned at this, shaking her head at the boy who had come to be her best friend. Only he knew what a freak she was for anything with strawberry anything in it and only he would risk upsetting the balance to request a certain breakfast from the head of the cooking staff and get her to go against his father's wishes. Yes, only he knew that she was a strawberry fanatic. She could be content surviving on strawberries for the rest of her life if she had to.

"I'll be out in a sec, Yasuo," Sakura said grinning. "I just have to get a few other things, then, I'll be done." He smiled his naturally inviting smile and nodded his head once before a thought seemed to come to his mind and it turned into a mischievous grin. Sakura's smile immediately turned into a frown at this, knowing the kind of pranks Yasuo had pulled on her all of her previous birthdays since she had met him. She could practically see the cogs turning behind his eyes, cooking up another devious plan to irritate her to no end. She shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, thinking of the many things he could do to freak her out or piss her off or embarrass the living crap out of her, probably all of the above.

He stayed silent for a moment more, obviously enjoying the tension, before she barked a nervous and irritated "What?" at him and he snickered ominously, shaking his head.

"Why, nothing at all, darling sister! I was just thinking of the presents I got for you. I think you'll find them… most memorable…" Sakura's eye twitched little at the ominous tone, but she stayed silent as he continued. "I'll give you one of them before you leave for school, but you'll have to wait for the other one. See you at breakfast… Oh! And happy seventeenth birthday." With that he snickered once more and closed the door before Sakura could get another word out.

_Oh great,_ _what in God's name does he have planned this time? _Sakura groaned, shaking her head in annoyance and anxiety.

Blinking once more at the closed door, she sighed and reached for the small black leather studded purse she had recently bought with the money she had earned from her odd jobs, (usually random things like babysitting, mowing lawns, and walking dogs) unzipping it to make sure everything she usually brought with her was still inside. She counted all of her favorite nail polishes, the only "girly" thing she indulged in; one was a glittery gold, one was a vibrant pink, one was a grass green, and one was just plain old black.

So, nail polish? Check.

Next she found her small hand held wooden mirror made from cherry-wood with beautiful cherry-blossom trees carved into it; another keepsake from her "happy" life.

Priceless family heirloom? Check.

Lastly, she made sure she had a few pads and tampons… you know, just in case.

Girly products for the worst part of being a female? Check.

Oh, and just for the sake of it, she stuffed the remainder of her money inside; she was all good to go. She stuffed the purse into her back pack, leaving only enough room for maybe a change of clothes, (if she wanted to bring any) and her home-made lunch, which, as of then, was downstairs in the fridge. She slung her bag over her shoulder and strode to the door, opening it then locking it behind her with her room key. Strange you would need to lock your own bedroom door from the outside, but whatever. It kept her prankster step-brother out of her stuff so she was glad for it. She hooked the key onto the keychain on her backpack and rushed down the stairs, eager for once to eat breakfast; it wasn't very often she got her favorite breakfast and she intended to enjoy it, even if she had to do so in the company of her Step-father.

As she entered the dining room, she noticed with a glance that her Step-father was absent for once. She smirked happily at this. _Oh goody. No overlord of hell to make me feel like trash for once. Maybe my birthday won't be such a terrible one after all. _She frowned then, noticing that Yasuo was also absent. Her mother was too, but that was relatively normal behavior so it didn't matter much. Grimacing, Sakura took her regular seat at the end of the table on the right side of the end chair that was opposite to the one her Step-father normally occupied, the seat reserved for the head of the household, and waited to be served, wondering idly what kind of 'present' her step-brother would unleash upon her this year. He had said he had two, one for now and one for later, but that was normal. It was a tradition with him to give her one present she would like and one that she most definitely wouldn't, the order in which he gave them however, was always random. Would she get the bad one now or later? She really hoped it was later; right now she just wanted to enjoy her favorite breakfast and get to school so she could ace her test and bring her score in math back up to an A+.

If she had anything to do with it, she would end high school with perfect marks, get into a wonderful college, (preferably far from here) and get a job as a veterinarian when that was finished. She had thought about becoming a doctor at some point, but she had always felt more comfortable with animals then humans; the only thing she had always been certain of was that she wanted to be someone who could heal and help others, even if those 'others' might be less than human. Sakura grinned at that. It almost seemed she was speaking of demons or some nonsense like that instead of animals. Hah. Now that would be interesting. Too bad they didn't exist except in folktales.

Just then, Sakura was interrupted in her musing by the sound of a plate hitting the wood of the table in front of her. She gasped, then mumbled a quiet 'thank you' at the servant who she hadn't even noticed until then. The servant just bowed, gave a dirty look, (the servants had all been hired by Mr. 'You-Are-Beneath-Me' himself and most of them seemed to agree with him on the notion of Sakura being trash) then left. Sakura just sighed, exasperatedly, shrugged it off and turned to her favorite breakfast with a wide grin before taking her fork in her hand and cutting a small portion with a large strawberry and lots of syrup on it. Taking the first bite, she smirked in pure delight, letting loose a contented, 'mmmm…' before digging in.

"How can you eat something that sweet without gagging?" Sakura jumped at the sudden noise, choking on the strawberry she had just placed in her mouth. She heard a small chuckle from behind her as she gulped down her glass of water, trying to keep from suffocating on the tiny red berry. _What a way to go; death by strawberry_… _now that would be embarrassing._ Sakura thought as she coughed a few more times, got up, and turned to face the laughing boy behind her, an angry scowl on her face. _Oh, yeah, Yasuo, you better laugh it up now 'cuz in a few seconds, I'm going to Death Glare the crap out of you…_ except it wasn't Yasuo behind her. Her eyes widened in surprise, losing all her rage in place of shock at the boy she hadn't seen in three years, not since he was sent to a high-class boarding school in America.

"Se…Setsuya-sama… your… back." He smirked, his narrow black eyes empty and cold, always seeming as if he were planning something to the utmost detail. He was the first son of Jiro-sama, Sakura's Step-father, and future head of the household. He wasn't like Jiro-sama… no, not in the least, but… he was also nothing like Yasuo, either. Scratch that. He didn't really look like _anyone_ she had met before. His hair was a strange red-black, the colors seeming to fight each other for dominance every time it was presented in a different light. His eyes were a cool, calculating black, empty like two dark pits. His skin was almost as light as hers, if not just as and his nails and canines always seemed a bit sharper than they should be, like he was a predator—some kind of wild creature that might attack at any moment. Speaking from another perspective, he was also shockingly handsom, even more so than Yasuo who was hounded by the fan-girls all day at school. The strangest thing Sakura had noticed about his looks though, was that sometimes it seemed like he had a strange, blue-black mark on his forehead, if Sakura happened to surprise him, which was rare, and even then it was faint and seemed to disappear as soon as he noticed her presence. Yes, he was strange, in appearance as well as personality.

She had little contact with him, even after Jiro-sama had married her mother and combined their households. This was due to the fact that he spent most of his time overseas, studying in prestige boarding schools, learning to become 'all that a head of the Ishikawa household should be', as her Step-father had put it when she'd dared to ask when she was younger and had less insight into just how much he despised her; nowadays she would not speak to someone who was so displeased with her if it was not absolutely necessary.

Anyway, Sakura had only seen Setsuya-sama once or twice every year and he did not stay longer than a week or two when he was around, and even then he stayed mostly to himself, only speaking directly to her once or twice when they had accidently bumped into each other in the halls of the main house or sometimes at dinner, which was the only time she was sure to see him. Suffice to say, Sakura didn't know much about him other than the few things she had learned from Yasuo and the few instances she had come into speaking distance with him by accident. All that she could pick up about him was that he was quiet, extremely intelligent, seemed to like tormenting her, even more than his younger brother, though he did it much less often (duh, he's never _around_ to do it) and, though he had never looked at her with much displeasure like his father, he seemed as though he didn't particularly like her... or _anyone_ that happened to meet his calculating gaze.

But above all of these things Sakura had managed to observe about him, one thing in particular caught her attention every time she encountered him: he scared her… more so than any one person had managed to scare her with nothing more than an unwavering, judging stare and a tight lipped, somewhat malicious smirk. There was just something about him that seemed wrong, something that was off, and she didn't like the way his eyes always looked at someone like he was reading their deepest, darkest secrets just by looking into their eyes… like he knew something that they didn't, like he was judging them, and had something horrible planned for them. It didn't help that his eyes were such a dark, empty color… it was enough to make her shudder, thinking of those black, empty orbs examining her like a piece of meat… He was the one person that could make her act like she was now, trying not to meet his gaze, speaking in hushed tones, almost unable to make a complete sentence. And she knew that he realized this… from the way his smirk tightened a little bit more, from the way the corners turned up just a little more, from the way his eyes narrowed just a little more… he _knew_… and he liked it.

"And a hello to you too, Little Sister." He said, chuckling darkly. Sakura looked up at this, jerked suddenly once more from her own thoughts by his deep, smug voice.

"I am sorry, Setsuya-sama. I was just startled… you aren't exactly around too often, you know…" She trailed off, bowing her head a little in respect, speaking softly to him, in the voice she only allowed herself to use when speaking to him; she didn't like being weak and this voice made her appear so more than anything else she did. Unfortunately, she could not help it in his presence, for 'weak' was exactly what she felt around him. Suddenly, it struck her that it was odd for him to be around for more than just the reason that he hardly ever was.

He chuckled darkly again, bowing a little in return before straitening to his normal relaxed pose. "It's fine, Sakura-san. I understand it isn't normal for me to visit unless it is a holiday and the school is giving a break." He said, as though reading her thoughts. He paused a moment and she forced herself to meet his gaze, flinching a little when he stepped closer, his height difference forcing him to look downwards at her and her to look up at him. "However… I have already met the qualifications needed to graduate, so I left early, figuring that I could for once visit my special little sister on her birthday. In fact, I even got you a present." Sakura's eyes widened at this as he stepped even closer. He had come back for her birthday? It made sense, if he had truly graduated early, that he might come back for a step-sibling's birthday… but he was _Setsuya_ for God's sake. _And_ he had gotten her a present, which he had never done before. Something was just wrong with this picture.

"You got me a… present?" He fake frowned at her incredulous voice.

Sighing with fake exasperation, he shook his head at her. "You think I would come home specifically for my lovely little sister's seventeenth birthday and fail to even get her a present? You hurt me with your opinion of me, dear little Sakura. Just for that, I'm not going to give it to you until tonight. You have dance class after school today, yes? You won't be home until around seven, so I'll give it to you then." Her mouth dropped open in shock, her eyes widening a little more, as she ran over what he said. How did he know she took dance lessons? And that she was turning seventeen? Even as little as she saw him three years ago, she hadn't even seen him once since he had been sent to America, and yet, here he was, completely informed on her when she didn't know if even her own _mother_ knew those things.

Setsuya, seeing the girl's shock, smirked again, lowering his eyelids and leaning into close to her face, almost laughing as her electric green eyes widened even more, her mouth still hanging open slightly in her shock. He secretly loved the many different facial expressions he found he could make her do, even though he rarely got the chance to see her, due to his fate of being the head of the Ishikawa household and so always being away at prestige learning facilities in other countries. He looked forward to the one he would get to see later that night, when she returned from the lessons he had secretly followed her to time and time again, when he was curious as to why she was sometimes so late coming home and when he wished to escape the boredom of his "father's" presence. Oh yes, he knew that look would be utterly unique on her… it would probably be one of his favorite as well and one he had yet to make her do. Yes, if she was shocked now… it almost made him want to give it to her right then, as soon as he could... but he would wait. He had his patience and now was not the time. He had to wait until everything was completely ready, until the moment she truly turned seventeen. Then, and only then, would he give her his… "present".

So instead, he would settle for shock. But perhaps… maybe he could still get a different version of it, if he just did something like…

Sakura had no idea what the in the name of _Hell_ was going on. One second Setsuya was frowning and teasing her, the next second he was closer than he had ever been, his face a mere three inches from her own as he smirked and lowered his eyelids at her, his thick lashes almost concealing his shudder-worthy gaze as he lifted his hand and gently brushed a lock of whitish gold hair from her eyes. Her mouth closed immediately and she stiffened when the tips of his cold fingers lightly brushed her eyelid. He leaned forward just a bit more and then… he turned swiftly and walked away, waving his hand lightly behind him, and telling her "happy birthday, Sakura" before disappearing around a corner.

Shell-shocked and confused beyond belief, Sakura just stared at the spot he had just been, her brows furrowed in utter dis-belief at what had just occurred. Setsuya, though never around, was still just as much considered her brother as Yasuo, even though the relationship between them was even less brother-sister-like than the one she shared with Yasuo. Sure they weren't actually related, but he had never treated her differently than he might a sibling who he simply didn't connect with well enough to want to speak with them or treat them with affection, and now it almost seemed like he was actually… NO. She would not even consider that, it was just too weird and messed up to even think. He was just teasing her again was all. Yes, only teasing her… TEASING. She forced herself to turn around, sit her butt back down in the chair, and eat the rest of her special birthday breakfast with a blank mind that didn't even consider the preposterous notion that Setsuya was actually… no she would not finish the sentence. Sakura didn't taste a single bite she took for the rest of her meal.

Sakura just ate mechanically, only stopping when she felt her fork hit an unyielding surface and looked down to realize her plate was now empty. Suddenly, Yasuo entered, making much more noise than his brother and alerting her to his presence almost immediately as he sat down and started to eat his own breakfast. Sakura stayed zoned out long after noticing his presence and only 'woke up' after he was suddenly beside her, waving a hand in front of her face and snapping his fingers, saying things like 'earth to Sakura, come in Sakura' then asking if she was okay as she violently shook herself into concentration and nodded her head at him, forcing a smile.

At first she thought he would notice it was forced, but that thought was relieved as he grinned at her, pulling her seat out and offering a hand to help her to her feet. She pushed it away, annoyed that he seemed to think she needed help standing up and decided she shouldn't let stupid nonsensical thoughts get in the way of possibly having a decent birthday for once.

Yasuo, seeing that his friend had finally 'regained consciousness' took the moment to motion for her to wait a moment as he left the room then returned a few seconds later, holding three neatly wrapped presents in his arms, each one a different size and shape. This somewhat shocked Sakura. Hadn't he said he only got her two presents? And that he wasn't giving her the second one until later that night? Who could have possibly given the other two?

Yasuo laughed at his Step-sister's questioning gaze. He had expected it, but it was still enough to pull a laugh, the way she looked at the presents in his arms like they were the strangest things she'd ever seen. He had to admit he'd been a little surprised as well when he had received the extra two from the head maid along with small note asking him to deliver them along with his own. He knew Sakura's confusion would only increase when he revealed who they were from.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Sakura. Just don't have a heart attack when you hear who they're from; I don't want to be the one to have to drag your dead body out to bury before you start to stink the place up." Sakura frowned at this, glaring at him and making him laugh once more. "First things first. Here," he said cheerfully, holding out a small, cube-shaped one with pink wrapping paper and a white and red ribbon. "this one's from me." He informed her as she glared once more, then let the glare fall from her face in favor of curiosity as she took the delicately wrapped package and removed the ribbon and wrapping, finding a wooden box about the size of her alarm clock with cherry-blossom trees painted skillfully over it, curving gently around her name which was painted on in golden lettering. Hesitantly, she opened the box then gasped in awe at the item she found inside. It was the single most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was a small choker with white lace and black trim on either side of the inch-thick white silk material which was embroidered with lovely black and pink thread depicting a cherry-blossom tree that spread gracefully across the white of the material, the petals making it more pink than it was white as they dancing in the wind across the shimmering white silk. The black contrasted wonderfully, long, graceful branches reaching across in a lovely arc, delicately lacing the picture with the beautiful black silken threads. And the choker itself wasn't even the best part.

The best part was the three jeweled cherry-blossoms that hung in a small bundle at the end of a black inch long chain hanging from the middle of the choker. The flowers were created to the utmost detail, the largest fanning out it's petals and slightly covering the other two smaller blossoms with seemed more to be buds than fully blossoming flowers. The petals were a soft, snowy white at the centers that turned into a light pink that darkened at the edges. The very center of the blossoms faded to a vibrant red, akin to the color of blood with tiny, delicately crafted pollination clusters poking out from it. At the end of each one was a small blood colored gem that sparkled as if light were radiating from its center. The flowers were so real and yet so unreal as she gazed upon their beauty and gently ran her finger along the polished edge of a solid petal, half expecting it to give way under her fingers as a real blossom would. It was by far the most beautiful thing she had ever received.

"Yasuo… i—it's too much! It must have cost you a fortune! There's no way I can take something like this!" Sakura gasped, trying to push the box back into his hands. Yasuo just shook his head, grinning and chuckling as he pushed it away. Sakura was _definitely_ Sakura.

"No way. I worked for all my money and I have every right to spend it however I please. If I want to use it to buy you stuff then you damn well better take it. Besides, it's considered rude to reject any gift that is freely given." Sakura shook her head again and for a moment he thought she would try and give it back again, but she just settled for shaking her head in disbelief, then turning back to the choker and gently stroking one of the tiny red gems at the tips of the pollination stems. "Those are red diamonds. Not really anything more than chips, though, so don't freak out." Sakura just laughed a little and shook her head some more before turning back to him with a wide, cheerful grin and throwing her arms around him for a hug, which was made somewhat awkward due to the fact that he still had two more gifts in his arms, one of which was shockingly large and REALLY heavy and the other medium sized, though quiet light.

Pulling back Sakura smiled a genuine smile of happiness at her wonderful step-brother, uttering a happy, "Thanks a lot, Brother" before turning her curious gaze back to the other two presents and quirking a brow. She could tell immediately Yasuo was having trouble carrying the biggest of the two, which was a tall, skinny rectangular box almost the same height as her, if not taller. It definitely picked her curiosity who had given such a thing, what in the name of Hell it was, and how she was expected to lift it when Yasuo appeared to be having so much trouble. At the motion of his head she followed him into the sitting room where she quickly flopped down on a fluffy cushion, watching as Yasuo placed the huge box down on the coffee table then flopped down across from her on another cushion.

He seemed to give it an appraising look before shaking his head as though in disbelief and panting at the effort of getting it on the table which only made her more curious to see what it was. Unfortunately, it seemed it would have to wait, as Yasuo quickly tossed her the other flat rectangular box instead. It was very light, compared to how the other one looked, and Sakura wonder if it even had anything in it at all as she gave it a light shake, then, feeling nothing move inside, shrugged a little and fingered the plain white wrapping paper and black ribbon.

"I think you better open that one first, Sakura. You'll be less likely to have a heart attack from shock knowing who that one's from than you will the other one. Plus I'm seriously not sure what kind of hazardous thing could possibly weigh that much and I would rather not give you something you could kill people with if I can help it."

Sakura glared menacingly at him as he held a look of complete seriousness even though she knew he was teasing her. "Whatever." She growled, turning back to the box on her lap and ripping the wrapping paper and ribbon off in annoyance. It was just a regular cardboard box, the kind you used to wrap clothing in. In fact that was probably what it was. It would explain the lightness and seeming lack of movement. Sakura pulled it open and found herself filled with awe for the second time that morning.

It _was_ clothing. And it was also the coolest thing she had ever seen. It fit her punk style perfectly, at the same time as being cute and rich looking, blending punk qualities with that of traditional Japanese clothing. The dress was made of white silk, much like the choker, with patters of blood colored cherry-blossoms snaking up the left side, a lovely black cherry-tree weaving it's branches through them as they traveled up the side. The top of the dress was made up of a black corset with pink criss-crossing laces on either side of the chest area; when it was on they would travel directly up along the center of each breast. The white silk came up above the edge of the corset about two inches and a silver zipper came across it, disappearing behind the corset as it came down diagonally from the left to the right. The silk was trimmed with white and black lace at the tops that ended only as it reached the two black straps that held the dress up. Additionally there were two puffy white sleeves meant to wrap around the top of the arm, connected to the dress at the arm pit and traveling down just under the puffed-up part in two tight black sleeves made of the same material as the corset, each ending at the elbow and having the same criss-crossed pink laces on either.

The skirt flared out drastically at the hip, the material bunched up on one side to show another layer of pretty black silk with yet another layer of white lace peeking out from under it. The skirt was short, coming only to about four inches above the knee, but it was much less slutty than it would seem due to the finery of the outfit. On the bunched side, the material was drawn up to mid- thigh to show a pair of black shorts that came down to just above the edge of the full-length side of the skirt, effectively hiding the other leg on that side. Along with the dress was a pair of charcoal thigh-highs rimmed with the same white lace as the dress. A single white note sat on the top of the outfit. Picking it up Sakura read in familiar writing, _Wear it tonight._

Sakura was speechless, only able to open and close her mouth much like a gold-fish and run her trembling fingers along the silky fabric in shock and awe. Yasuo compensated for her speechlessness with one simple word. "Whoa." Sakura simply nodded. They sat in awed silence for a few more minutes before, Yasuo decided to speak again. "We don't have too much longer before we have to leave for school. We better get around to the last one. Oh, and that one, is from Mother." Sakura tore her gaze from the outfit to gape at her brother in shock. Then she smiled a gentle and loving smile, her eyes tearing up a little in sheer joy.

"I can't believe she remembered… this is so beautiful. She even remembered the type of clothes I like. I'm so… _happy_... I might cry." Sakura said softly, her voice filled with love and happiness. Yasuo smiled. He knew she would be happy. Then he frowned. He knew how happy she would be, just as he knew how she was going to react to the information on who had given the next gift; with complete shock and disbelief.

"That's enough of that, Sakura. You still have to deal with the next gift." Sakura nodded, wiping a quickly shed tear from her eye, setting the dress aside and shifting forward to the last present. It was wrapped in blood colored paper with black and white ribbon. Slowly she tore away the fabric, then braced herself, untying the ribbon then hesitatingly lifting the edge of the box so that she could pull the rest of the wrapping and ribbon from under it, expecting it to be heavy as hell. Apparently Yasuo had expected the same and had moved to help her, but stopped at she lifted it with ease. She gasped a little at the lightness of it. There was no way something that had given Yasuo, who was relatively strong from years of mixed martial arts training, could be that easy for her, who had never been very strong, to lift. She stopped for a moment, then took a deep breath and slid the wrapping and ribbon out from under the box, placing it to the side next to the discarded wrapping of the other two boxes. The box under the wrapping was made of cherry-wood, the same as the mirror her parents had given her, and shockingly, it was decorated with carved wooden cherry-blossoms just as the mirror was. It was so similar, there was no way for it to be a coincidence. Had her mother gotten her this as well?

Hesitantly, she opened the box, and then, her eyes went wide as saucers, and she heard Yasuo gasp in shock. Inside, resting in black velvet, and wrapped in pink and white silk with red rope around them, were two ENORMOUS swords. Only the handles were visible, but there was no mistake as to what they were. The handles were crafted of something akin to polished jet, silver, and ivory. The jet twisted with the silver to form an inner hilt that was rectangular, banded with the silver and black, and a mainly ivory knuckle guard completely circled the centered hilt, curving all the way around to connect to either side of the blade which lay still concealed by the silk. The ivory was carved into lovely curving cherry-blossom branches, silver curled in and out of the blossoms, swirling in rune-like designs under raised portions of the branches, curling up and over some of the flowers, in areas, and over the branches themselves in others when there was no place to go under. The branches were twisted and entwined in more inlaid jet. But still, Sakura's eyes were once again drawn to the blossoms themselves. The ivory was stained with color, ranged from the bloodiest of reds, to the lightest of pink. The petals were speckled with red diamonds that glistened like drops of blood.

In a daze, Sakura felt her hand drift down to stroke one of the hilts laid before her, then, as if dreaming, she felt her hand pull along the intricate carvings of the outer guard and then grip the handle of the inner sword. Her other hand swiftly untied the red rope that circled the blade around the silk. Yasuo, reached forward, gasping as he tried to stop her from lifting the thing that she could surely never lift without hurting herself… but he stopped once more in shock, as the blade lifted easily and she stood as if hypnotized, lifting the sword with her.

She could not help but stare in wonder as the silk dropped from the shiny black, somewhat see-through at the sharp edge, blade and pooled in the case. Obsidian. Sakura was almost certain, that the blade was constructed entirely of obsidian; volcanic glass. The black blade was about an inch thick at the thickest point, nearly eight inches wide at its widest, and at least eight feet long, two and a half feet taller than her! Embedded partially in the hilt, hidden by the silk previously was a large, flat black gem, (more polished jet) rimmed with silver, big as her hand with the fingers spread wide, and extending at least a centimeter from the flat of the blade on either side of it. The top of the blade was completely straight all the way to the tip and blunt, but the sharp underside jutted out sharply from the hilt, making the blade grow wider till it was at its widest point, then it curved back in sharply, creating a pointed corner that looked like it could slice through anything. As the blade grew thinner, there were rectangular cut-ins along it, each one about a centimeter thick, and a centimeter apart, making teeth-like edges to the blade that ended about five inches from the tip, making a final uncut edge at the end. The entire blade was imprinted with the same silver rune-like designs as the hilt.

Sakura raised the blade, so that the tip pointed up, her arm bent at the elbow as though trying to ease the support, but no support was needed; the sword was virtually weightless. And… it felt so… _right_ in her hand, as if it were an extension of her own arm. _Kuro…_ she found herself thinking as she gazed upon it. _Kuro No Ken… Black Sword… _Slowly she laid it back in the case, then, using her opposite hand, took the hold of the other sword, and, untying the rope, lifted it as well.

In a flutter of fabric, the second sword was revealed and Sakura and Yasuo both gasped again in wonder. The handle of this sword was an exact replica of its brethren, but everywhere the handle had been white, it was black, and everywhere the handle had been black, it was white. The only constants were the delicate cherry-blossoms and the rune-like silver swirls. The blade was also the twin to Kuro No Ken, but instead of being the deepest black of night, it was a pure, untainted white. White quarts, she was certain. The large gem at the center of this blade was the same ivory as parts of the handle. _Shiro… Shiro No Ken… White Sword…_ Shiro No Ken was just as weightless as Kuro No Ken, and fit just as well in her hand, Sakura's right side extension, where the other was her left. And as she placed the second sword back in the case, she knew that the two swords belonged only to her.

With one last glance at them, Sakura closed the case and sighed. Then Yasuo freaked.

"HOW IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY DID YOU MANAGE TO LIFT EITHER OF THOSE?" Sakura jumped back, startled at the sudden outburst, her eyes widening at the question. _How _did_ I lift them? _She thought. It should have been impossible and, if she hadn't been so hypnotized by the beauty of the swords, Sakura would have never even _tried_ lifting them, but… when she looked at them, it didn't even occur to her that she may not be able to lift them. And so, she had. She had lifted both, using only one of her arms for each.

"I… I don't know…" She said, her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked at Yasuo. He eyed her, trying to decide if he thought she was lying, then, seeing she was not, also furrowed his brows in confusion.

"It was so heavy when I was carrying it… I was certain that you wouldn't be able to lift it at all the moment I picked it up… maybe it was just the box that was heavy?" With that, Sakura shrugged and watched as Yasuo stood and opened the case, taking the hilt of Kuro in his hand and lifting up. But, to both Yasuo and Sakura's surprise, he couldn't even lift it a millimeter from the case. Frustrated, he pulled harder, his muscular arm straining with the effort, but the sword didn't move. Then he placed his other hand on it as well and lifted with all his might, the veins in his head popping out as his face reddened with effort, but the sword didn't even shift. Gasping he let go and once again turned his confused gaze to the mirrored one of Sakura. At that moment, both thought the same thing; _What the Hell?_

"Well… uh, that… was weird." Sakura muttered, breaking the silence. Yasuo simple nodded, eyeing the swords in wonder. "Who gave them to me?" At that, Yasuo shook his head in disbelief, chuckling a little.

"You would never believe me." Sakura quirked a brow in question and waited for him to continue. "They were from Father." Sakura gasped for what seemed like the millionth time in… you guessed it, utter shock. After a moment, Sakura's brow furrowed again in more confusion. How weird could one day get? Apparently, very. First, a surprise visit from a creepy step-brother who may be having… pervy thoughts about his own step-sister (as unrelated and un-brother-sister-like as they were, it was still disturbing) then a awe inducing present from Yasuo, a shocking gift from a mother than normally would not even remember she had a daughter, and finally, receiving two extremely exotic swords that it seemed now only _she_ could lift as a present from her Step-father who hated her guts and usually didn't waist the time of day to look at her, let alone ever give her a gift on her birthday.

"That, is almost more shocking than the fact that I just picked up two swords with each one arm, that you carried perfectly well before hand, and then you couldn't even lift one of them with two hands after." Yasuo laughed at this nodding his head.

"Yeah right. Not even being abducted by werewolf-vampire-aliens from the moon could be as shocking as that. You're weaker than a stuffed rabbit with most of the stuffing ripped out."

"I am not! That is a total lie!" Sakura yelled, glaring at her friend. Yasuo only snickered.

"Whatever, bunny. Now, as strange as this morning has been, we are going to be late for school if we don't leave right this moment. Even then we'll probably still be late. So, while you sit there and glare, I'm going to try and forget this morning ever happened and get my butt to school before I'm put in detention again. See ya!" And with that, Yasuo jumped up, snatched his black book bag from the floor and darted out of the room, leaving a shell-shocked Sakura sitting there for a moment before she bolted up, stuffed her neatly folded new dress and her choker with its box in her bag, and glanced at the case that held Shiro and Kuro one last time before bolting out the door after Yasuo.

Little did they know, the entire moment of shock had been watched from the other room. A pair of calculating black eyes stared in wonder at the case on the coffee table. Then he slid the door open all the way and walked slowly towards it, opening the case and gazing for a moment in awe at the masterpieces inside. They were the most amazing weapons he had ever laid eyes on. He reach down as if to grasp the hilt of the black sword, but as he was about to touch it, a burst of pink light shot out from the swords, repelling his hand in a flash of burning pain.

"Interesting…" Setsuya, whispered in wonder, rubbing his scorched hand in amazement. Then, a tight lipped smirk pulled across his mouth as he began once again to do what he was best at… plan. "Time is running short, my dear Sakura… will you be prepared for what is to come? Or… will you die under the weight of your curse?" Chuckling, Setsuya stepped back into the shadows, his calculating eyes thinning in anticipation of the "present" he would soon be giving.

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Okay, I just wanted to say, I re-wrote a few sentences of this and did some editing when I tried reading it and found out there were a lot of mistakes and I gave too much away at the end. So if you're re-reading this, and are wondering why it's a little different, thats why. Once again, sorry for how long it is, and I dont know when I'll have time to write more, but I promiss to try and get another chapter out as soon as I can. I'll be reviewing and editing the second chapter as well, as I am almost certain it will be filled with just as many mistakes as this one.

Till next time,

XxTorturedHeartxX


	2. The Ruby Red Gift

Sorry this chapter was so long as well! Don't expect every chapter to be this long in the future and they probably won't come out so quickly either. No time travel or, *frown* Sesshy either, so sorry about that too. However I can almost certainly say there's quite a bit more action and horror in this one! I think... anyway, if you do not like gore, you should be advised this is just the start of it as I am a particular fan of the gory supernatural horror genere and will be putting _**a LOT**_ of it in the comming chapters. Expect at least the time travel part in the next chapter, but I'm still not sure about Sesshy DX

Anyway, enjoy and REVIEW!

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Inuyasha or any of its characters or story lines.

Claimer: I do however own my OCs Sakura, Yasuo, Setsuya, Jiro, Etc. and this particular storyline.

Chapter Two: The Ruby Red Gift

"YES!" Sakura gasped in relief as she read her test score for math_. A perfect mark! _She thought to herself, grinning in triumph._ Good-bye A-, hello A+! _Sakura gave a quick fist pump before blushing in the realization that class was still very much in session and numerous other students were now laughing at her, while others were glaring at her in jealousy for her good grades. Sakura mumbled a 'sorry' to her teacher, who was also glaring at her slightly, before slumping dejectedly back in her seat in embarrassment. Sakura ignored the glares and snickering going on around her and instead took the time to dwell on what might happen when she returned home later. This would be her last class of the day before her lengthy dance class, (it was normally only two hours long, but there was a charity recital coming up so classes were two hours longer than usual; she wouldn't get home till around seven, which meant walking home in the almost dark. Not a pleasant prospect in the bustling city of Tokyo, but what could a girl do?)

Anyway, that left her with a dilemma. Sure, she wanted to return home and check out Shiro and Kuro a little more… in fact she had a strange itch to be near the two blades, like she needed to have them with her at all times. She was feeling extremely anxious without them nearby… like her stomach was filled with spiders. Due to this, Sakura had been fidgeting about all day, unable, for the life of her, to stay still. She _needed_ to hold Shiro and Kuro, or at least have them close by… maybe she could sneak out of class right now and pretend to be sick so she could skip dance class… NO! What the _Hell_ was she thinking? She had already _named_ the freaking swords, not to mention she was almost thinking about them like they were people! And now she was thinking of skipping her favorite part of her day just to _hold_ them? What was she, some kind of sword freak? No, she would be a 'good little girl' and stay where she was until the bell rang, then she would walk to dance class and when that was finished she would go home and leave the swords alone. Not to mention she still had to deal with whatever cruel jokes her two step-brothers had planned for her as 'presents'.

Sakura still shuddered at the thought of the look Setsuya-sama had given her that morning… but it was probably nothing… after all, unrelated or not, he was still technically her brother. She'd probably just misunderstood and he was just going to give her a regular old present. _Yeah, because all you've gotten today have been 'regular old presents'. _Her conscience chimed in sarcastically._ Priceless diamond studded choker? Regular as Hell. Fancy expensive dress from mother who you didn't think even knew you existed most of the time? Happens _all_ the _time._ Twin swords only you can seem to lift that you fantasize about all day as if they were hot guys you wanted to make-out with? Snore… _Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples in exasperation. _God, I am screwed._

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Sakura arrived at dance class early, much to her chagrin, due to the fact that she couldn't seem to stop herself from rushing to do everything, as if it would get her home faster. It only increased her anxiety when she then had even longer to wait before she could leave and get home. Those four hours were the longest hours of her entire life. Sakura had to force herself to slow down when class began, so she wouldn't mess up. She wasn't going to ruin her practice time just because she couldn't wait to get home and look at some swords she'd gotten as a birthday present from a Step-father whom she hated... just then, as Sakura was getting into her tights and leotard, she suddenly realized something. Was it weird that she had found the prospect of her guts-hating step-father giving her, the object of those guts-hating affections, a present shocking? No. It was shocking he even knew when her birthday _was_. Was it weird she had never even thought of the fact that giving a person not one, but _two_ deadly weapons as a birthday present was strange for anyone to do? Yes. _Who the Hell gives someone _swords_ as a present? Why am I only finding this strange now? God, I am hopeless _and_ screwed._ Sakura thought, sighing in exasperation at her lack of realization skills. Sakura placed her school clothes in her bag alongside her birthday dress, then shoved the entire thing in her locker and slammed it closed before it fell back out.

She took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. _Just focus on dance for now. Deal with the other stuff later. Right now, all you are is dancing, movement, energy. You have no care for swords, step-fathers, step-brothers, birthdays, or anything but moving._ Sakura nodded her head, pushing all other thoughts out and leaving the locker room in resignation.

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Sakura, gulped down water from the fountain, having forgotten her own water bottle at home that morning, and used the back of her hand to wipe sweat from her brow. Man that had been a hard four hours. She had pushed herself to her limit trying to get her mind off of everything and had practically passed out from exertion. _It's a good thing they have showers in here or I'd go home smelling like a sweat storm._ Sakura didn't normally like taking public showers and usually waited till she was home, but she was just so damn dirty feeling right now, there was no way she was going to walk all the way home smelling like this and her clothes would cling to the sweat if she put them on now. Lucky for her, she had an extra towel in her locker just in case.

So Sakura entered the public showers alongside three other girls, stopping on her way to grab her towel and strawberry shampoo and soap. The water was cold, but it felt good to get all the grime off. Pulling her hair from its ponytail and pulling the band over her wrist next to another one she had forgotten about, she closed her eyes and shivered as the cold water soaked through her hair, washing away the day's events. It felt really good. It had seemed absolutely freezing a moment ago, but now it felt really good in that it was cooling her almost burning skin better than the quick gulp of water before hand had. And, it was strange but, as she scrubbed her hair with her shampoo and then let the water rinse it out, her scalp started to tingle strangely. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, but, it was weird non-the-less… like her head was on fire at the same time as freezing over. Both feelings should have hurt, but instead they just created a heating then cooling effect, sort of like _icy-hot_ therapeutic gel. It was… nice.

Realizing she was the only one left there, Sakura hurried to scrub the rest of the soap from her hair, then give the rest of herself a once over with the bar of soap before rinsing and turning the water off. Immediately her skin began to heat again, much to her dismay. Was she getting sick? She hoped she wasn't. She didn't have time for being sick, not with her busy schedule. She didn't feel sick, though… her skin was just hot, though not quiet uncomfortably so as of yet. She decided to ignore the feeling for now, she'd get around to actually checking her temperature when she got home.

Sakura pulled a brush from her locker, wrapping the towel around herself, then got to work brushing the snarls from her long hair, pulling it over her shoulder as she sat to give better access. It was then that she noticed the streaks.

"WHA-WHAT IN THE NAME OF HELL AND ALL THAT IS HOLY ON THIS EARTH IS THIS?" Sakura yelled, jumping to her feet and running the mirrors, flinging her brush down in her dismay. Sakura's jaw dropped in shock. Her hair… was streaked… with PINK and BLACK. The varying sized streaks were everywhere throughout her gold-tinted white hair. And the strangest thing was that the black ones were completely and totally black as could be and the pink ones were the most undeniably pink, (light as it was) pink against her regular gold-white locks. "HOW IS THIS EVEN REMOTELY POSSIBLE? THERE IS NO WAY MY WHITE-ASS HAIR COULD TURN_ BLACK_ OF ALL COLORS WITHOUT DYE! AND WHY IS THEIR PINK IN THERE TOO? SO MY HAIR RANDOMLY GAINING BLACK STREAKS WASN'T ENOUGH AS IT IS? I HAD TO HAVE _PINK_ TOO? HOW IN GOD'S NAME AM I SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN THIS TO JIRO-SAMA? OR MOM? OR SETSUYA? OR ANYONE?" Sakura, huffed, staring in disbelief at the cascading tri-colored hair, the white parts still glinting with gold even in the dull artificial lights.

"Damn." Sakura exclaimed, turning her head from side to side, examining the hair with disbelief. It looked _longer_ too! Sakura was certain it hadn't come to just below her butt this morning. Blinking, Sakura, leaned in closer to the mirror. "This is weird as all Hell, but… it… it kind of... _almost_… looks _good_." Sakura admitted. Her hair had always made her look so colorless paired with her white skin, but with the added black and pink it didn't really look as bad. _And the pink is such a nice tone… pale, but still undeniably pink… like cherry-blossoms… _Sakura groaned at that thought. She was sensing a theme today. _What is it with things pertaining to name-sake flower, today? Even all my birthday presents were cherry-blossom themed. I guess fate just decided since I was named after them, I must _**love**_ them… which I kind of do… but that isn't the point! _Sakura sighed. No matter what color her hair was now, she still had better brush it and get dressed so she wasn't even _latter_ coming home. She didn't want to walk in _complete_ darkness.

So Sakura made her way back to the bench by her locker, scooping up her discarded brush on the way, and sat down to comb her strange, now apparently color-changing hair. _I bet the new colors would look good with that dress Mother got me… the choker as well. In fact the entire thing would probably go together, seeing how the colors of the three are so similar and both the choker and the necklace are cherry-blossom themed… the items look like they were made to go together…_ Sakura's thoughts faded off and she suddenly stopped brushing, a thought coming to her head that made her grin. She would wear the new presents home! Come to think of it... hadn't the card that came with it said, "Wear it tonight"? It could be like her birthday outfit or something! The shoes wouldn't be a problem either; she was almost certain her regular ankle high combats would make the outfit look even better than it did. And she had two rubber bands with her so maybe she could use them to do her hair up nice as well… yes, that was what she would do.

Sakura nodded in resignation and quickly brushed the rest of her hair out before pulling the dress and matching thigh-highs from her bag, dropping her towel and quickly dressing. Picking it back up, Sakura wrapped her hair in the towel, so it would dry a little more as she pulled the small wooden box with her choker in it out. She opened it and took a moment to gaze in renewed awe at the beautiful piece of jewelry, softly running her finger along a glistening petal before pulling it out and putting it on. She pushed the empty box back in the bag and slipped her combat boots on, tightening the laces and buckles before give her hair a quick rub dry, mindful of tangling it again. Striding to the mirror, brush in hand, Sakura gave an appraising look at herself. She wasn't very pretty and she was sure the lovely dress would look much better on someone more shapely, but she looked pretty good considering. Her hair went well with the colors of the dress, just as she'd hoped, so it wasn't half bad. If only her face wasn't so plain.

Sakura dismissed the thoughts with a shake of her head and ran her brush through her hair once more before pulling a band from her wrist and splitting her hair down the center, making a zigzag using her pinky nail as she had once been taught by her mother. She decided on twin ponytails. It was simple, but not something she did very often, so it was still special. And besides, most of the time she didn't take the time to actually make the ponytails tidy and even like she was now. She left two pieces of pink and white hair loose on either side, choosing two that weren't quiet as long as the rest for the job and decided she was glad for once that her hair was a little curly; it wasn't so bad since her hair rarely frizzed and it made the strands left loose look a little less long.

"There! All finished." Sakura looked herself over and then smiled happily. It wasn't half-bad for a flat-chested, plain-faced, colorless girl. Strike the colorless. Who could call someone with pink and black streaks 'colorless'? She grinned widely at this. Then nodded her head at her reflection, glad the choker did indeed go so well with the dress and happy she could make herself look remotely pretty for once. It was enough. She hurried back to her things, pushing her tights, leotard and damp town into her bag along with her brush shampoo and soap, slamming her locker closed, and nearly sprinting out of the place, bag in tow, as she made her way home.

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The walk home was uneventful, luckily, even though it was completely dark by the time she found herself at the gate of her house. She grinned as she approached, excited to show off her outfit even if it would be to Yasuo, who would probably tease her, her step-father, who would stare at her with disdain, and Setsuya, who it might not be a good idea to look remotely good around. Her mother would probably still be locked in her room as always, so she most likely wouldn't get to see it. Sakura was a little sad about that… maybe she would ask her step-father to let her visit tonight. She hoped he would.

She smiled as she entered the gates and looked towards the mansion fifty feet away, but as soon as she stepped foot on the land, she was overwhelmed with a sense of extreme wrong that wiped the smile from her face. There was something horribly wrong… but, what was it? Sakura noticed with a slight shiver of nervousness that all the lights were off. Not a sound was heard coming from the mansion, nor was a servant anywhere insight. It was true most would have gone home by now, but some of them who lived in the extra houses should still be walking around. And… the closer Sakura came to the front door, the stronger her feeling of anxiety and wrongness became. Her skin as well, began to tingle slightly with the long-forgotten heat of possible fever as she came closer, step by step, to the sickeningly silent, black house.

Sakura gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth in fear as she realized the front door was ajar. There was something very, very, VERY wrong. Sakura's pace quickened as she got over the shock of the open door and she lightly pushed it open farther as she reached it. It creaked open ominously, giving Sakura's heart a start before it sped into overdrive. The feeling of wrong was overwhelming and her skin got a little hotter, the dull tingle a little more noticable, as she stepped hesitantly into the house, then resumed walking, making her way farther and farther into the darkness.

"Y-Yasuo? Step-Father-sama? S-Setsuya-sama?" Sakura called hesitantly, feeling along the wall for a light switch. "Is anyone here?" She asked, as she felt a bump on the wall, signaling the finding of a switch. She flicked it, but nothing happened. The power was out. Her skin was noticably hot now… and… the house _smelled_ strange. "Hello? If this is some kind of joke… it really isn't very funny!" No one answered. Her heart beat rapidly and she took cautious steps forward, still feeling along the wall so she wouldn't bump into anything in the pitch black. She was used to seeing in the dark… but there was very little lite and she was human after all. As her hand brushed against a door and she turned to pull it open, there was a sudden, loud 'bang' and Sakura jumped her heart jolting in her chest as she spun towards the noise, calling out, "Who's there?" The only answer she received as she realized with a shiver it had been the front door slamming shut, was a deep, rumbling chuckle that resounded off the walls, sounding like it was coming from everywhere.

_Oh, God, there is some psychopath in here… who knows what he's done with everyone! Please God let this be some kind of cruel excuse of a joke for a birthday 'present'! Please let it just by Yasuo, or even Setsuya getting the entire family and staff to agree to scare the living crap out of me as a team. Don't let anyone be hurt or worse… NO! No everyone is perfectly fine. This is just a joke. Or a dream. Yes, just some horrible nightmare I'll be waking from at any moment. God damn it, why is my skin getting so hot?_

Sakura shivered even though her skin was practically on fire now… "Okay, everyone, I'm scared out of my mind now, you've won, now stop being jerks and turn the lights back on!" she yelped a little as she heard the chuckling again, this time coming from behind her. Sakura took a deep breath, turned around, and seeing nothing, started to walk in the direction it was coming from. Her skin was hurting a little now, but she was too scared to pay much attention as she stumbled nearly blind in the direction of the eerie chuckling. "Wh-Where are you? I can't see where I'm—oh!" She yelped as she slipped in a puddle of something and fell forward, barely catching herself on the wall before she face planted. A full out laugh echoed down the hall from somewhere in front of her. Sakura shivered at the sound… it was so… _inhuman_.

Turning her attention back to the wet spot and bending down, Sakura gulped, then, lightly touched the tips of her fingers to the wetness on the ground. It was sticky and thick and she could make out by its dark color that she was standing in a small pool of it. She hesitantly smelled it. It was the source of the strange sent that wafted around the entire house… a strangely sweet, coppery smell. Funny… the sent seemed familiar, like something she had smelled many times before, but she couldn't quiet remember what it was. And, when Sakura had first entered this place it hadn't really smelled so sweet like it did now… but somehow she knew it was the same smell, just… she interpreted it a little different for some reason.

The longer she stood there, the better smelling it became. She lifted her fingers up to her mouth, opening it a little._ I wonder what it tastes like..._ Sakura gagged in revulsion jerking her hand away. Who knew what this stuff was and she was standing there almost thinking about _tasting_ it? What kind of freak _was_ she? Sakura shook as much of the liquid off of her fingers as she could and continued, this time cautiously, towards the laughter. Was it really a good idea to be following a creepy laugh through a pitch black, seemingly dead to the world Japanese mansion? Probably not. But it was probably just Setsuya. After all, how much did she really know about the guy? Not really very much considering she hardly ever saw him. Maybe he found this sort of thing funny? Sakura could only hope that was the case.

She noticed as she walked that her sight was getting clearer, strangely enough. She could now make out the forms of doors and furniture as she walked down the hall… as well as the fact that there was a trail of drips of the thick, sweet smelling substance leading her down the hall. _That's not creepy at _aaallllll. Sakura thought her heart hammering at this point. She stiffed as another chuckle drifted down the hall from in front of her. She sped up, scratching at her burning skin as she walked. It was very painful now and felt irritated, like she was developing a rash _everywhere_. If she weren't so worried about who—or what—she might be chasing down the hall, she would have been very scared by this fact, but, as it was, she was too caught up in the creepy happenings going on right then to care much.

"Th-This r-really isn't funny… please, whoever you are, come out now!" Sakura exclaimed as another chuckle, this time accompanied by the opening then closing of a door, sounded from in front of her. Sakura continued forward until, finally, she reached a large pair of double doors at the end of the hall. _The family shrine room…_ Sakura thought as she gulped, staring at the door in front of her and wondering if she really wanted to open it and see what was inside. She knew, she just KNEW that whatever it was that was wrong with the house, could be found past these doors. Her skin ached as she reached for the handle anyway. She was terrified of what she would see, the smell of the wetness was so strong here and it was coming from the other side of the door…

Sakura took a deep breath, stepped forward, and threw the doors open all the way. And then…

The laughter was everywhere! It was so loud and evil and terrifying! But Sakura did not think of the laughter, her terror was not from that…

Her eyes went wide in horror, her mouth falling open to scream, but in the terror and gut-wrenching nausea she felt at the sight in front of her, she couldn't make a noise. In front of her, fallen in three different places throughout the room, were the mangled and bloody bodies of her family. Their blood was everywhere… it was sprayed across the walls, pooled on the floor, splattered all over in a gruesome mess of dark red. And… it smelled sweet… Sakura doubled over and heaved her stomach contents out, not stopping until it was empty even when a dark figure appeared across the room, eyes glowing red as blood as it laughed that inhuman laugh and sat on the offering table against the wall.

_Oh, God… what could have… how could this… please, God, no…_ Sakura fell to her knees as she finished heaving out the contents of her stomach, sobbing uncontrollably as the images of her family were scorched into her mind. They were so mangled, she could barely tell who was who among the claw-like gashes, spilled insides, and massive amount of blood… "Why?" She whispered, sobbing. "Why, _why_?" The monster in front of her paused in his laughter to smile evilly at her, but she could barely make it out as she forced herself to look upon the face of her family's murderer. All she could see clearly were his empty, evil red eyes, shinning in the darkness with an intensity equal to the blazing flames of Hell itself.

"Why?" Sakura shivered at the happiness in the voice, the malice... it was like nothing she had ever heard, and yet, it was so familiar… "Why, because it's your birthday, my dear little Sakura! You didn't think I would come all the way here just for you and not get you a present did you? I'm hurt you would think that of me…" He paused and Sakura's eyes widened in shock and horror as she realized who it was. "After all, related by blood or not, I am still your brother, right?"

"Setsuya…"

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Dun, dun, dun! Oh, No's! SHOCKER, (I hope...) Who would have know Setsuya would turn out to be so disturbed and creepy! O.O

Okay, strike the creepy. We already knew he was kinda a creeper. Heh heh heh. Anyway, I edited this and changed a few things I thought needed to be better described after I read through the first chapter and realized how many mistakes I was making, so if you already read this and was wondering why it was different, thats why. Time travel is promised in the next chapter and definetly more surprises!

Anyway, until next time and REVIEW!

XxTorturedHeartxX


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